Semper Fi
by Skyphoenix
Summary: A story of a friend willing to do anything for another the true sign of friendship.'For greater love hath no man than this, but he that lays down his life for his friends.' Full summery inside. ONE SHOT! Ch2 Author's explaination etc.
1. Greater love hath no man than this

Seimper Fi

Explanation: I know that this may seem a bit dark for me, but oh well. A friend of mine is writing a story that contains a character based of me in real life… and one of the scenes he had bothered me a little… You see, his character has a secret, and he (the character) could get incarcerated for it (very long story; if he ever gets it published, you'll understand). His closest friends know, including my "spin off"(for lack of a better term). The representation of me gets caught and tortured by the government. My character eventually gives in.

This disturbed me. You see, even if I don't say it to them out loud, I am always there for my friends, no matter what. If they're in trouble, I'm there to protect them. I would do anything for my friends. Therefore, I wrote this as a response, just as my way of telling him what I said above. Star is a representation of me; Robin/Nightwing is my friend. There are no romantic moments in here, so the fluffy supporters can scram. There may seem to be some spots towards the end, but they're moments of friendship. Nothing more.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters here. Nothing but the plot is mine.

"Starfire" a voice resounded.

Star raised her head to glare at the silhouette standing in front of her.

She'd been stuck in this position for hours. She may not have known why she was there exactly, but she knew that specter of a person anywhere.

"Slade." She spat.

He slapped her. "I will not be addressed in such a manner. You are to show respect to your elders. Now, I have one simple request. Tell me what I want to know, and I'll let you go. If you don't… well, you'll give in eventually.

"Now, tell me, what's Robin's real name?"

Star remained silent, glaring at her captor.

"Such stubbornness; How foolish can you be? All wills are broken eventually. It's just a matter of time." With sudden swiftness, he grabbed her chained arm and twisted it away, causing her to cry out as she was pulled one way while her other arm was chained to the other beam. Besides her crying out, she made no other sound.

Eventually, Slade let go of her arm; though not without twisting it in several different directions, breaking a few fingers, and popping her arm out of its socket.

Star was just beginning to think he was going to leave her alone for a while when he struck again, using the same treatment on her other arm and breaking both legs.

After a while, and other various types of torment, Slade moved on to mental torture.

"Why are you so loyal to them? What have they ever done for you? They've ridiculed you, ignored you, left you alone, _forgotten_ you! Do you think they're out there looking for you? They're probably at home, glad that the alien annoyance is gone. Do you realize that? They've left you ALONE!"

Images of all the events that even slightly agreed with what Slade was saying raced through Star's mind. _Was he right?_ She thought desperately. _Was it true, they didn't care about her? _

Suddenly the image of Tobin's face burst through her confusion. It was the night Robin had stopped her from leaving when Blackfire had "come for a visit".

"No one can take your place." He had said.

Other images like this went through her mind… the Tamaran Engagement; the numerous time they had saved her life; When Robin had become Red X and went with Slade to….

Slade.

Star jerked back to reality, just in time to hear Slade finish off with "Tell me what I want to know, and we'll destroy them together! Make them pay for ever forgetting you!"

Star lifted her head again, and glared at him. "I would rather die then live knowing I had destroyed my friends."

Slade moved over to a large table that held a meter and a button.

"So be it."

He pressed the button, the meter hit the top of the scale, and Star's screams filled the cavern.

Robin and the others returned to Titan Tower, exhausted from a long search. They hadn't been able to find Starfire anywhere. They half wondered if she'd managed time travel again, but it was highly doubtful.

There was a message waiting on the computer when they walked in. Robin opened it, the others looking over his shoulder.

Robin sat up in bed; his own cries had awakened him. He was shivering, sweating profusely like people always did when waking up with a nightmare.

He sat there, shivering for over a minute, when a thought struck him. He leapt out of bed, out the door, and ran down the hall stopping outside Star's door. It opened, and Robin froze.

Star's room was empty.

Robin went into shock. No. First his parents, now Star. No…. No. No! NO!

"Robin, why are you up at this early hour staring into my quarters?"

Robin spun around, and was met by a pair of innocent emerald eyes. He was so emotional that he reached out and hugged her.

Star was shocked. Robin? Was showing emotion? Then she realized what must have happened. She led him to the room of living, where there were two mugs of hot chocolate waiting for them.

They sat down, and Star asked. "You had another night terror, yes?"

He nodded.

"Tell me about it."

He did. And when he was finished, Star looked at him differently. Not strange in any way, just… different.

"Robin, you know I would never do that to you. I would never tell your secret. And I'll never really leave. I'll always leave something behind." She gave him a surprisingly normal human hug, instead of one of her breath-stealing trademarks.

Somewhere in Jump City

Nightwing woke up, feeling as though he'd been wrapped in a wonderfully warm blanket.

Then the reality of the dream hit him, the memory of that terrible night.

He collapsed back onto his bed, sobbing gently, taking a small, strangely colored gem from his bedpost, holding it tight.


	2. Author's Afterthoughts, Explaination, et...

I'm sorry to say that this is not a real chapter, just consider it one big author note to all 4 of the people that have reviewed as of June 3, 2005.

First, I would ask you to not throw flamers at me for not continuing. I have my reasons, and due to the demands to update or create a sequel, I fear that I did not explain myself well enough.

In the story, Star dies instead of live knowing that she would become like Terra, possibly worse, and destroy her friends. I put this up as an explanation to my friend (mentioned in Author Note before the story) that I would do just that. My friends mean the world to me, as much as my family. Heaven help anyone that hurts them.

The way it ended, Star had left something behind, as a sort of representative that she would be there, and just because she wasn't in the visible realm, she would do whatever was in her power to help.

The whole story, symbolism aside, was Nightwing's reality. The first Dream, in which Star died, actually happened. What was in that picture… I leave that up to the reader's imagination.

The part with Robin Waking up, was also a dream, sort of in which Star's… ethereal self came into Wing's mind and in her own way explained her actions. Then, as read, Wing woke up and realized what it all meant, and that Star had visited him in his dreams, etc.

I hope this provides some explanation for this being a one-shot. Thank you. bows


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